Grantham, PA — Hosting Widener University to open the MAC Commonwealth Conference portion of its schedule Saturday night, the opportunities for the second-ranked Messiah College men's soccer team were plentiful.
The quality and execution of said chances varied, however — at least according to Falcons head coach Dave Brandt.
Messiah (9-0-1, 1-0) rang up a season-high 32 shots but could find the back of the net just once, as sophomore Geoff Pezon tallied his team-leading 13th goal of the season at the 66:32 mark. That score ended a series of near misses from the Falcons' front line, changing the landscape of a game that seemed to favor the visiting Pride the longer a scoreless tie remained on the scoreboard.
Pezon's goal would stand as the contest's lone score, giving Messiah a 1-0 victory — the team's sixth consecutive shut-out win.
Afterward, Brandt seemed more concerned with the quality of his squad's chances on goal than the quantity.
“We showed our youth tonight,” Brandt said. “We displayed some lack of discipline and focus around the goal, two areas that we rely heavily upon. If we put away a couple of our chances early, things are taken care of. We made it hard on ourselves that way tonight.”
Facing a Widener team that came in with a staunch defensive mindset, Brandt's club began its assault on the Pride cage early and often. Numerous first-half scoring build ups were created by the Falcons' front line, only for each of 15 first-half shots to go begging.
Perhaps the most notable opportunities came within a five-minute stretch, as freshman Trevor Lee took advantage of a misplayed ball by the Widener defense, getting off a shot at an open goal 20 minutes into play. Two Pride defenders slid into the goal mouth at the last possible moment, deflecting the ball away just inches before it crossed the end line.
Senior Matt Dorsey then served a high-arching ball to Pezon in the game's 25th minute, and Pezon appeared to have scored the go-ahead tally after collecting the cross at the far post. His shot caromed off the post and into the hands of diving Widener keeper Hamed Correa, however, preserving the scoreless tie.
As Brandt urged his team to continue pressuring at halftime, the second period provided more of the same. One of Messiah's 11 corner kicks again looked to erase the deadlock, as sophomore Nick Thompson blasted a point-blank blast to the goal line — only for another Widener defender to clear the ball just inches before it crossed into the cage.
A close-range free kick was wasted just 10 minutes later, as junior Josh Mull was taken down just steps outside the Pride's 18-yard box.
The groans from the more than 1,400 Falcons fans in attendance seemed to grow more audible with each missed opportunity. For Brandt, however, Messiah's close calls were not a matter misfortune.
“Luck has nothing to do with (finishing),” Brandt said. “We rely on a lot of discipline around the goal. I think our young players are still learning what that means.”
Fortunately for Messiah, Pezon was able to finally get his team off the hook. Streaking down the middle of the field, Pezon took a through ball and outran a pair of defenders on his back, beating Correa to the near post — actually banging the ball off the post and into the back of the net — at the 66:32 mark.
Messiah nearly tacked on a pair of insurance goals afteward, the most notable coming off the head of Thompson on a late corner kick and another coming on what may have been: Just three minutes following Pezon's goal, freshman Trevor Lee ran down a long ball and was taken down violently inside Widener's box — an almost certain penalty kick situation.
No foul was called, however, and Messiah continued its search for an insurance marker.
None would be needed, as Widener (3-5-3, 0-1) recorded just a single shot on the night. Five Falcons recorded four or more shot attempts on the evening, led by Lee's six attempts and five from both Dorsey and senior Josh Sanders.
“Make no mistake, we played well between the 18(-yard boxes) tonight,” Brandt said. “The key is to play well inside the 18.”
The win sets up a highly-anticipated showdown with third-ranked and neighboring rival York College next, as Messiah will host the Spartans to Shoemaker Field Wednesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
